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Brooklyn Bridge Walk

Manhattan to Brooklyn in search of ice cream, pizza, views and people watching

Rating: 5 out of 5 by EveryTrail members

Difficulty: Easy

Length: 4 miles

Duration: 1-3 hours

Family Friendly

Overview :
This is a fun and scenic walk from Manhattan to Brooklyn. If you have children with you, just say these magic words: "Brooklyn... more » Ice Cream Factory" and you will likely have no trouble getting them excited for the walk across one of the country's most famous bridges.

This can be a crowded or mellow stroll across the East River. Drink vendors line the bridge, which can be helpful in warm, humid weather. To your right, you can spy the Statue of Liberty in the distance, along with dozens of boats and helicopters. To your left is the Manhattan Bridge.

Completed in 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was originally designed by German civil engineer John Augustus Roebling. The bridge's construction became a family affair, when Roebling fell ill and enlisted his adult son, Washington, to lead the project. Not long after Washington assumed the charge of the bridge did he also need to pass the baton after he suffered permanent physical damage while working in the sealed underwater foundations for the two towers (an ailment known as caisson disease, decompression sickness or more commonly "the bends"). Washington put his wife Emily in charge, and for more than a decade she managed the day-to-day operations of the bridge construction, bringing instructions from her bed-ridden husband to the job site and updates back to him. She became highly knowledgable about the engineering intricacies of the bridge, impressing politicians and other engineers with her capabilities and leadership. In the official opening ceremony, on May 24, 1883, Emily was the first person to cross the bridge. less «

Tips:
Bring water, especially on a hot day.

Finding the entrance and exit to the bridge is not obvious. These POIs and map should help.

Points of Interest

On the Manhattan side, begin the walk across the bridge in the small park next to the Manhattan Municipal Building, an impressive 40-story Beaux-Arts building with a subway station in its basement. The Manhattan Municipal Building is across Center Street from City Hall Park. You can take the subway or a taxi to get here. The subway actually drops... More you much closer to the start than the taxi can (too many busy streets and freeway on ramps for a taxi to slow down nearby, so they have to drop you a ways away from the start). Start looking for where the pedestrians and cyclists are headed, along with any food and drink cart vendors who are at the ready for would-be bridge crossers.Less

2. Midway

Halfway across the bridge is a great spot to take pictures, observe all of the activity on and over the river (boats, helicopters, cars zooming below you) and people watching. We saw everything from tours to photo shoots to small film crews.

Look for the sign "Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO: Washington St. and Cadman Plaza" with an image of a pedestrian descending some stairs. (Note: DUMBO stands for "down under the Manhattan Bridge overpass" and refers to the neighborhood there.)

Once you are at street level, look for maps and read the keys to find the stops and... More sites you're after. For example, the River Cafe and Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory are next to each other on the waterfront and No. 2 and No. 3 respectively on the sign. Grimaldi's Pizzeria is No. 8.

Being under the crisscross of the bridge's on and off ramps make navigation difficult. We used our iPhone's GPS, and we hope this map and guide will help you. Of note, you will be crossing UNDER the bridge and feeder expressways a few times. While the track looks like you will cross over the expressway or bridge, you are going underneath, safe and sound.Less

There are likely several, more direct ways to get to the waterfront and Ice Cream Factory, but we liked this route for a few reasons:

1. It took us through the peaceful Cadman Plaza Park, which was welcome after the urban, hot and busy walk across the bridge.
2. Middagh Street is small, tree lined and filled with great architecture, including... More pretty brownstone homes, a fire station, a school and small shops.
3. Keep walking and you will be able to cut through to Columbia Heights (a right turn), which takes you downhill past tiny Hillside Park, which has views of on and off ramps to the bridge.Less

At Old Fulton Street, turn left and you will see the cute-as-can-be ice cream factory near the water in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge. There is a large pier and tiny restaurant right there. There is also the River Cafe just beyond the Ice Cream Factory and a water taxi boarding area in between.

We read about the famous line out the door and down the block, but didn't believe it until we saw it. It looked like a lot of young people waiting in the heat (not families or older couples). The pizza must be amazing, but we were surprised to see that the shop didn't sell pizza by the slice. There was an ice cream truck just to the right of... More Grimaldi's, which perhaps saved some patient patrons from the heat.

Of note, there are several restaurants on the same block as Grimaldi's, one of which even "dares" to serve pizza. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to brave the line at Grimaldi's (and we were disappointed to miss out on trying NYC's beloved pizza), but instead we ate at 7 Old Fulton Restaurant (same name as address). This spot was a peaceful, cool (temperature), friendly, tasty place with a long, old-fashioned bar and elegant Rococo-inspired design. It was quite good--reasonably priced steak sandwiches, salads, pasta and great, attentive service.

After Grimaldi's, continue on Old Fulton Street to Prospect Street, which will take you on some busy streets and underneath a few expressway and bridge access ramps. Where Prospect crosses Washington, look for the staircase that leads back up to the bridge pedestrian walkway.

The walk back is nice, punctuated with great views of Manhattan. If you... More didn't notice the Statue of Liberty before, you can see her to your left. The Manhattan Bridge on your right is also scenic.

Stay to your left, as the right lane is for fast-moving bicycles.

Once you're back on the island, a rest stop in City Hall Park (across Center Street/Park Row) is a cool and welcome spot to plan your next adventure, even if that is just where to have dinner.Less

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